The following is an
overview of human rights violations in Iran on January 19th, 2019 based on the
information compiled and verified by Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA).

(1) Two Baha’i citizens, Kimia Mostafavi and Kiana Rezvani, have been arrested in Kerman. Their whereabouts are still unknown.

(2) A landmine explosion injured Hadid Babajani, a 19-year-old Kulbar (Kurdish back carrier), in Ravansar city in the Kermanshah province.

(3) Two workers of Iran National Steel Industrial Group (NSIG) in Ahvaz, Karim Sayahi and Tarogh Khalafi, were released after two months. More than 43 workers of NSIG have been arrested on December 16, 2018.

(4) A student transporting vehicle crashed leaving four students injured in Tehran. Similar incidents had happened in Qaleh Ganj and Ekhtiarabad in Kerman province on January 15 and 16.

(5) A Baha’i owned-business in Birjand was reopened. Farshid Deymi’s store was sealed off by judicial authorities order last year. Apparently, the Baha’i owned-businesses were shut down because they were closed for Bahai religious holidays.

(6) Two detained labor activists, Behnam Ebrahimzadeh and Arsham Rezaei have their bonds set at 200 million Toman [approximately 20 thousand USD] each. Ebrahimzadeh was arrested last month and he had been released from prison last year after finishing his seven years sentence.

(7) Masoud Shamsnejad, a lawyer and professor, was arrested and transferred to Urmia prison while the security guards raided his home and confiscated his belongings. He was accused of “propaganda against the state” due to being a lawyer of his clients.

(8) A worker died of electrocution in Tehran and another worker fatally fell in Zahedan, because of negligence in the oversight of safety conditions.

(9) Four employees of a news website, Sunni News, were summoned to the Revolutionary Court in Zahedan. Sunni News discusses the Sunni Islam beliefs and rituals with respect to the other religions.

(10) The workers of Khuzestan Pipe Industrial Company have more than 15 months unpaid wages and 11 months unpaid insurance fee owed by the employer.

(11) Two environmentalists have been arrested in Sanandaj city in Kurdistan province. Edris Mohammadi and Avat Karami were arrested for an unknown reason and their whereabouts are still unknown.

(12) More than three protests were organized in Iran on January 19, 2019. Municipality workers in Borujerd, several people in Sistan and Baluchestan, and the workers of Ahvaz inter-city rail, have held separate protests to demand their requests.

The following is an overview of human rights violations in Iran on January 1st, 2019 based on the information compiled and verified by Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA).

(1) Vahid Moshgani farahani, the attorney of the detained lawyer, Amir Salar Davoudi, reported of renewal of detention for his client. He was arrested earlier on November 20 being accused of ‘assembly and collusion against national security.’

(3) The appeal court of nine Baha’i citizens affirmed their primary sentence of 48 years in prison, combined.

(4) Due to unsafe workplace conditions, one worker was killed, and six others were injured in Kerman and Yazd provinces. Also, because of rollover of the bus carrying workers in Fars province, one worker was killed, and 12 others were injured.

(5) Hamidreza Rahmati, a teacher activist, who was arrested while protesting the arrest of the teachers during teachers’ strikes, was released on bail.

(6) Six Baha’i citizens were sentenced to three years imprisonment combined in an appeal court in Sistan and Baluchestan province. They are accused of ‘acting against the national security by membership in the Baha’i Community’.

(7) The head of guards of the Department of Environment in the province of Gilan confirmed that two rangers were injured in fights with poachers.

(8) The chief of Public Security Police announced that 38 thousand pirated and illegal books were discovered in a storage in south eastern part of Tehran.

(9) Omar Rasoli, a 45-year-old prisoner died because he was denied medical care in Urmia prison. Urmia prison officials neglect for medical care is a serious issue; seven inmates died because of that in the last year.

(10) Tehran’s chief of police, Hassan Rahimi, confirmed that 932 protests had been held in the last nine months. He added that the emergency calls received by the police department have been increased eight percent in the same period.

(11) Over 121 children under six who were suffering from malnutrition, were identified in Bandar-e Mahshahr in the last nine months. They have been significantly off the charts in weight and height.

(13) A prisoner was executed on a murder charge in Mashhad prison on December 30. In 2018, the Iranian authorities issued the death penalty sentence to 240 individuals and have already carried out more than 256 executions.

(14) Fazel Gheytasi and Reza Asadi were arrested by security forces in Kamyaran. The reason of their arrest and their whereabouts are unknown.

(15) Two Azerbaijani Turkic rights activists, Reza Jafarlou and Akbar Gholizadeh were summoned to the Revolutionary Court of Urmia.

(2) Narges Mohammadi, a human rights activist who is currently serving a 16 year prison sentence, was transferred to the Legal Medicine Organization office to verify the necessity of her hospitalization.

(3) The workers of five government-owned corporations, National Iranian Gas Company (NIGC), Bavers Steel Company, Electricity Meter Manufacturing Company, the caviar fishery department of the Iran Fisheries Organization of Golestan province, and Sepehr Windshield Manufacturer, are demanding their 16 months unpaid wages. The unpaid wages has been continuous issue in Iran over the last year.

(4) Two workers were injured today in Tehran, due to unsafe workplaces. Moreover, Tehran Metro Company has notprovided safety work clothing and workwear for their employees in past three years. Iran holds the dubious record for the highest number of deaths and injuries in workplaces.

(5) Another social deprivation case from Iran: this year, approximately 100 thousand children are deprived from going to school.

(6) A child abuse case was reported in Mahabad. The child’s abuse was identified to have taken place by his father that is a drug addict and has abnormal psychological condition. The victim was transferred to the city’s State Welfare organization.

(7) Another 17-year-old girl committed suicide by jumping off a bridge in Isfahan. More than 7% of suicides in Iran are committed by teenagers.

(8) Civil rights activist, Amir Chamani was arrested and transferred to Tabriz prison to begin serving his sentence. According to Hrana, he has been sentenced to a six-month prison term on charges of “Propaganda against the regime” and “Cooperation with opposition groups”. Chamani has previously been pursued on similar charges. On July 5th, 2012, Chamani received a sentenced of six months’ imprisonment for “insulting both Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei and the late Ayatollah Khomeini”and “propaganda against the regime”. In another instance, after turning himself in for charges of insulting the President, Chamani was sentenced on January 13,2013, to 40 lashes by the Tabriz Criminal Court. He was dealt with the lashes on June 5, 2013 and was not released from custody until October 2nd of the same year.

(9) After four years, the petition of a Baha’i citizen, Taraneh Ghiami who has been barred from entering university due to her religious beliefs, was denied by the supreme court.

(10) According to the issued verdict in the appeal court of West Azerbaijan province, Eghbal Ahmadpour sentence on a charge of “acting against national security through membership inKurdish opposition parties” has been reduced from five years to six months.According to Hrana, the Urmia Revolutionary Court sentenced Eghbal Ahmadpour tofive years in prison on a charge of “acting against national security through membership in Kurdish opposition parties” on Thursday, October 4, 2018. He was denied access to a trial lawyer. Security forces arrested Ahmadpour on September 11, 2018. He was interrogated and held in solitary confinement for 12 days before being sent to Urmia Prison.